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"Allah" and Article 3: Practicing other religions in peace and harmony

October 1, 2013

"Allah" and Article 3: Practicing other religions in peace and harmony

 
Protestors outside the courthouse in Putrajaya on 10 Sept 2013

ON 10 Sept 2013, the Court of Appeal heard the appeal by Malaysian Government against the use of the word "Allah" by The Herald, a publication of the Catholic Church. The hearing lasted the entire day, with the morning given to the appellants (the Home Ministry and the Government of Malaysia) to present their submissions and the afternoon to the respondents (the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur).

An important exchange between the bench and the bar in the hearing may have escaped the attention of some. The exchange is both significant and worrying, as it introduces a revised understanding of Article 3 of our Federal Constitution, which states that "Islam is the religion of the Federation; but that other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation".

When this was raised by the Porres Royen, the counsel for the Catholic Church, one of the judges, Datuk Seri Mohamad Apandi Ali who led the coram, responded that it could also mean that non-Muslims must practise their religions in peace and harmony in the interest of Islam (Anbalagan, V., Allah issue, decision next month. The Malaysian Insider, 10 Sept 2013; emphasis added).

Protestors outside the courthouse in Putrajaya on 10 Sept 2013
 

Lawyer Lim Heng Seng, who was at the hearing and held a watching brief for the Sabah Council of Churches and SIB Sabah, later said the judge took Article 3 to mean that peace and harmony was in relation to Islam.

NECF Secretary-General, Eugene Yapp, who was in court that same day, said the judge's line of reasoning fit into the government's argument that use of the word "Allah" is exclusive to Muslims, and allow it to be used by non-Muslims would jeopardize national security and stability. The government's lawyers have said that there need not be actual disruptions of national security and that it was sufficient if sporadic or isolated disturbances occurred to warrant a ban on non-Muslims' use of the word. They referred to arson attempts on churches and the finding of a pig's head in a mosque in early 2010 as proof.

In court, Royen replied that the provision allowing other religions to be practiced in peace and harmony was a safeguard for the rights of non-Muslims as minorities, and said it did not mean that non-Muslims had to conform with Islam.

 
Protestors outside the courthouse in Putrajaya on 10 Sept 2013

Lawyers for the Catholic Church contend that Article 3 must be subject to other constitutional provisions, such as Article 4 which places the Federal Constitution, and not Islam, as the supreme law of the land, and also Article 11 on the freedom to practice, profess and propagate one's religion and for every religious group to manage its own affairs.

The Church's lawyers also hold that anti-propagation laws enacted by the States are meant to control propagation to Muslims, but not to non-Muslims. Banning "Allah" would restrict propagation to Bahasa Malaysia-speaking non-Muslims, such as the Orang Asli and Orang Asal. The word has been used by generations of BM-speaking Christians without any ill motive or conspiracy to influence Muslims. Further, suggestions that "Allah" be replaced with "Tuhan" are not tenable as "Tuhan" is "Lord" while "Allah" refers to the Creator God.

This last point rests on the historical and linguistic fact that "Allah" is not a personal noun but a common noun for the being referred to as Creator God. As a common noun, it is not exclusive to any particular religion.

The Court of Appeal has deferred judgment to a later date. After that, the outcome either way may still be challenged in the Federal Court. Meanwhile, let us continue to be fervent in our prayers for facts, and not emotion, to be upheld, for peace among the faiths and people, for the strengthening of the BM churches and that God's sovereign will be done over our land.

 


Protestors outside the courthouse in Putrajaya on 10 Sept 2013


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